WASHINGTON, D.C. – More than 100 senior representatives from the motor vehicle parts manufacturing industry will gather in Washington, D.C., Feb. 29 – March 1 for the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association’s (MEMA) annual Legislative Summit.  The group will be taking its message of what is needed to help the nation’s parts suppliers to Capitol Hill.
 
“We need Washington to understand what it is doing well and what it is doing that is harmful to the ability of our industry to sustain and create jobs,” said Bob McKenna, MEMA’s president and CEO. “The Legislative Summit brings the industry together to have a constructive dialogue with elected officials on advanced vehicle technology, research and development, burdensome regulations and other critical issues.”
 
Participants will pay visits to approximately 140 Congressional offices during the course of the Legislative Summit. The program also features respected political and policy experts, including: Stu Rothenberg, noted political commentator and publisher of the Rothenberg Political Report; the Honorable Phil English, senior government relations advisor at Arent Fox and seven-term Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania’s Fourth District; Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM); Karen Harbert, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy; Gregory M. Cohen, president, American Highway Users Alliance; and Geoff Burr, chairman of the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace.

Additionally, the industry will be presenting the Joseph M. Magliochetti Award to Rep. Todd Rokita of Indiana’s Fourth District.
 
“With the focus in Washington on what is needed to help the nation’s economy grow, suppliers have a great opportunity to work with members of Congress on policies that will help the industry prosper,” McKenna stated. “We look forward to the conversations and the work that will be needed to move the industry and the nation forward.”